Some facts about Chuck

Well, since the blog is named after him, I figure he's deserving of the innagural (err, second) entry. Here are some unknown (and known) facts about the greatest 2nd baseman in New York Yankees history:

Chuck Knoblauch
Edward Charles Knoblauch

Bats Right, Throws Right Height 5' 9", Weight 181 lb. School Texas A&M University

Debut April 9, 1991 Final Game September 27, 2002 Born July 7, 1968 in Houston, TX

Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (25th pick) of the 1989 amateur draft

Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   TB   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 1991 22 MIN AL 151  565   78  159  24  6   1   50  25  5  59  40  .281  .351  .350  198   1   5   0   4   8
 1992 23 MIN AL 155  600  104  178  19  6   2   56  34 13  88  60  .297  .384  .358  215   2  12   1   5   8
 1993 24 MIN AL 153  602   82  167  27  4   2   41  29 11  65  44  .277  .354  .346  208   4   5   1   9  11
 1994 25 MIN AL 109  445   85  139  45  3   5   51  35  6  41  56  .312  .381  .461  205   0   3   2  10  13
 1995 26 MIN AL 136  538  107  179  34  8  11   63  46 18  78  95  .333  .424  .487  262   0   3   3  10  15
 1996 27 MIN AL 153  578  140  197  35 14  13   72  45 14  98  74  .341  .448  .517  299   0   6   6  19   9
 1997 28 MIN AL 156  611  117  178  26 10   9   58  62 10  84  84  .291  .390  .411  251   0   4   6  17  11
 1998 29 NYY AL 150  603  117  160  25  4  17   64  31 12  76  70  .265  .361  .405  244   2   7   1  18  13
 1999 30 NYY AL 150  603  120  176  36  4  18   68  28  9  83  57  .292  .393  .454  274   3   5   0  21   7
 2000 31 NYY AL 102  400   75  113  22  2   5   26  15  7  46  45  .282  .366  .385  154   1   2   0   8   6
 2001 32 NYY AL 137  521   66  130  20  3   9   44  38  9  58  73  .250  .339  .351  183   5   2   1  14  10
 2002 33 KCR AL  80  300   41   63   9  0   6   22  19  3  28  32  .210  .284  .300   90   2   2   1   4   5
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
12 Seasons         6366      1839     64      615    117     730  .289  .378  .406       20  56  22 139 116
              1632      1132      322     98      407    804                       2583
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
162 Game Avg        632  112  183  32  6  10   61  40 12  80  72  .289  .378  .406  256   2   6   2  14  12
Career High    156  611  140  197  45 14  18   72  62 18  98  95  .341  .448  .517  299   5  12   6  21  15

As you can see, Chuck's stats weren't absolutely phenomenal, but a few stellar years picked up his career numbers. His .341 in 1996 put him 4th in the league in batting (Alex Rodriguez hit .358). Like most Yankee trade victims, Chuck crashed in New York, but served as a decent lead-off hitter to one of the greatest lineups in Yankee history (1998 114-48), and stole enough bases to be worthwhile. During the 1998 playoffs against the Cleveland Indians, Chuck began arguing with an umpire during play, allowing the Indians to score and win the game. Luckily, the Yanks picked up the series, and eventually swept the Padres in the WS. In 1999 his playing derailed, and he started making throwing errors to first base (deemed "yips" by local media), and finanally his Yankee career ended on the last night of the 2001 World Series, when Manager Joe Torre benched him (He hit an abysmal .056 in the playoffs).


Fun facts about Chuck:

Chuck is 4-time All-Star 2nd Baseman.
Chuck won the ROY award in 1991.
Chuck won a Gold Glove award in 1997.
Similar batters to Chuck include Delino Deshields and Ray Durham.
Chuck finished his 12-year career only 2 home runs shy of a whopping 100.

But hey... he did go to Texas A&M.